Tuesday, November 29, 2016

The French Navy D'Estienne d'Orves-class corvette FS Commandant L'Herminier(F 791) sailed into Valletta Port (the Grand Harbour) this afternoon on a courtesy visit.

The French corvette is currently deployed in the Mediterranean and assigned to E.U. Naval Force Mediterranean (Operation Sofia).The FS Commandant L'Herminier is presently berthing alongside at Pinto-5 wharf, and she's expected to sail from Valletta Port in the coming days. (29-Nov-2016)

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

The Royal Danish Navy Absalon-class support vessel HDMS Absalon (L 16) has sailed into Valletta Port (Grand Harbour) this morning on a courtesy visit. She has an Royal Danish AF Westland Lynx Mk.90B helicopter on board, serial S-191.

The Danish support vessel is presently berthing alongside at Pinto-5 Wharf, and she's expected to sail from Valletta Port on Friday, Nov. 25th. (22-Nov-2016)

A Hi Fly Airbus A340-300 (9H-TQM) was damaged at
Amsterdam-Schiphol International Airport in the Netherlands when the no.2
engine contacted the air bridge at gate G6.The aircraft had arrived as flight ferry flight AB-107P from
Berlin-Tegel Airport, Germany and was due to operateflight OR-341 to
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic on behalf of TUI Airlines Netherlands. (Source: aviation-safety.net, 21-Nov-2016)

Monday, November 21, 2016

The Royal Navy Echo-class survery vessel HMS Enterprise (H 88) sailed into Valletta Port (the Grand Harbour) this morning on a courtesy visit. This is her fifth port-call in Valletta this year.The British survey vessel is currently deployed in the Mediterranean and assigned to E.U. Naval Force Mediterranean (Operation Sofia). HMS Enterprise is presently berthing alongside at Wine wharf, and she's expected to sail from Valletta Port in the coming days. (21-Nov-2016)

Sunday, November 20, 2016

The Irish Naval Service Samuel Beckett-class offshore-patrol vessel LE Samuel Beckett (P 61) has sailed into Valletta Port (the Grand Harbour) this morning on a courtesy visit. This is her third visit in the Grand Harbour this year.

The Irish OPV is currently deployed in the Mediterranean and assigned to E.U. Naval Force Mediterranean (Operation Sofia).

LE Samuel Beckett is presently berthing alongside at Wine wharf, and she's expected to sail from Valletta Port in the coming days. (20-Nov-2016)

Saturday, November 12, 2016

The Royal Navy Echo-class survey vessel HMS Echo (H 87) sailed into Valletta Port (the Grand Harbour) this morning on a courtesy visit.The British survey ship is presently berthing alongside in Dock-3 at Palumbo SY, and she's expected to sail from Valletta Port in next month. (12-Nov-2016)

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Seven Air Malta flights departing from Malta IAP were delayed
this morning following a disruption in the airline's international
communications network.

The affected flights, destined for Milan, Rome,
Charles de Gaulle, Heathrow, Gatwick, Munich and Amsterdam, were delayed for 15-mins to three hours as a result of a computer link in the airline's
international communications network which dropped.

This meant that all
passengers had to be checked in manually – a time consuming process – an Air
Malta spokesperson told MaltaToday."The network has since been restored and
operations are back to normal now. We apologise for the inconvenience caused," he said, while adding that it was an issue beyond the airline’s control. (Source: maltatoday, 10-Nov-2016)

Summer closed on a sunny note for Malta IAP,
registering 3,645,812 passenger movements, which translate into a 6.3% growth.

During the summer period — which for the aviation
industry stretches from the end of March until the end of October — the airport
hosted over 210,000 passengers more than it did during the same period in 2015.
These figures mark Malta IAP's busiest summer yet.

This increase was registered on the back of an upturn
of 4.3% in seat capacity and an improved seat load factor, which climbed
up to 85% from 83.3% in summer 2015. Moreover, a rise of 1.4% was also recorded
in aircraft

movements.

The top five markets for the summer months were the U.K.,
Italy, Germany, France and Poland. A spike in passenger numbers of 46% put
Poland’s
growth well above that registered by the other four markets. While the U.K. and
Germany both recorded an increase of 3%, the French market grew by 5% and Italy
registered a more significant 11%.

Looking back at October shows that this month grew by
10.4% over 2015 to host over half a million passengers for the first time ever.October's
list of top drivers of traffic largely reflected the one for the summer months,
with the U.K. (4%) holding to its top spot, followed by Italy (23%), Germany
(18%), France (5%), and Switzerland (25%).

The varying rates of growth for
these markets in October stemmed from the launch of a number of new routes,
enhanced operations to destinations such as Zurich, and a better seat load
factor on flights to Amsterdam and Turkey. Moreover, an improvement of 2.5% brought
October's seat load factor up to 86%. (Source: maltairport.com, 7-Nov-2016)

Saturday, November 5, 2016

The French Navy D'Estienne d'Orves-class corvette FS Enseigne de vaisseau Jacoubet (F 794) sailed into Valletta Port (the Grand Harbour) this evening on a courtesy visit. This is her third visit in the Grand Harbour this year.

The French corvette is currently deployed in the Mediterranean and assigned to E.U. Naval Force Mediterranean (Operation Sofia).The FS Enseigne de vasisseau Jacoubet is presently berthing alongside at Wine wharf, and she's expected to sail from Valletta Port in on Monday, Nov. 7th. (5-Nov-2016)

Friday, November 4, 2016

A Ryanair B737-800 (EI-DCW), performing flight FR-2906 from Brussels (Belgium) to Malta IAP (Malta) had to divert to Pisa (Italy) last night after a fight broke out between passengers on board. After a number of passengers were removed from the aircraft in Pisa, the flight continued to Malta, reaching destination with a delay of 1-hr on its original scheduled time. (4-Nov-2016)

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Ryanair launched today its new route between Malta IAP and Toulouse (France). The first scheduled flight, operated with Boeing B737-800 (EI-EVF), departed from Malta IAP (FR-3008) at 0750lt. The return flight from Toulouse landed at Malta IAP (FR-3009) at (sta 1240) 1248lt. Ryanair will be operating this route twice-weekly. (3-Nov-2016)

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Ryanair launched today its new route between Valencia (Spain) and Malta IAP. The first scheduled flight, operated with Boeing B737-800 (EI-EBP), landed at Malta IAP (FR-7212) at 1516lt. The return flight to Valencia (FR-7213) departed from Malta IAP at 1621lt. Ryanair will be operating this new route twice weekly. (2-Nov-2016)

Ryanair launched today its new route between Malta IAP and Nuremberg (Germany). The first scheduled flight, operated with Boeing B737-800 (EI-ESO), departed from Malta IAP (FR-2561) at 1738lt. The return flight from Nuremberg landed at Malta IAP (FR-2562) at 2306lt. Ryanair will be operating this route twice-weekly. (1-Nov-2016)

A Ryanair B737-800 (EI-DLV), performing flight FR-8853 from London-Stansted (U.K.) to Malta IAP (Malta) had to divert to Bologna (Italy) this evening due to medical emergency on board. The aircraft then continued with its flight to Malta IAP reaching destination with a delay of 1.5-hrs on its original scheduled time. (1-Nov-2016)